12 Days In The South Of France: Days 9-12 Heat Wave In Paris

After four full days in Provence and just under four days in Lyon, we had a 10+ hour road trip for our final stop in Paris.

We were scheduled to spend our final days in Tours in the Loire Valley, but changed to Paris because of the heat wave. Temperatures were projected to exceed 100-degrees each day, and the Loire Valley activities would be mainly outdoors. In addition, our AirBNB in Tours would not be air-conditioned (most residences don’t have AC), so we opted for a modern, Marriott hotel instead.

The heat didn’t keep us away from the Eiffel Tower

We took a quick subway ride in the heat to get an up close view of the Eiffel Tower.

We also returned at night to walk along the Seine River and see the Eiffel Tower lit up.

However, mostly we stayed indoors.

We learned all about perfume

Specifically targeting indoor activities means museums in Paris. We had seen the Louvre on a previous trip and didn’t feel like fighting the crowds there or in the other more well-know museums, such as the Orsay or Picasso. Scott discovered a perfume museum on a list of free museums in Paris.

The Museum of Perfume is relatively new (since 2015) and is housed in the former Eden Theatre. The free admission includes a 30-minute guided tour, including the history of perfume, the manufacturing, and even a smell test. Some interesting facts:

• It takes one ton of flowers to create 1 liter of the essence used for perfume
• The types of perfume are based on how concentrated the essence is – parfum is 25% concentrated, eau de parfum 15%, eau de toilette 10%, and eau de cologne 5% (hence the price differentials!)
• Louis the 15^th only bathed twice per year (that interesting tidbit was shared during the history of perfume part of the tour)

The exhibits included the various instruments used in the manufacture of perfume, perfume bottles over time and perfume labels and packaging. I don’t even wear perfume, and I LOVED this tour. I would highly recommend it.

We learned how to become Parisian in one hour

We watched a one-man show by comedian Olivier Giraud on How To Become A Parisian In One Hour. Giraud covered Parisian quirks when it came to shopping, eating out, taking the metro, even finding an apartment. This show has been playing since 2009 and has entertained almost 1,000,000 audience members. It was a charming show, even laugh out loud funny in some parts.

Of course, the heat couldn’t keep us from food (or bargains)

Paris is all about the outdoor cafes, and people were dining al fresco even in the heat. Like in New York City, people eat late into the night. We arrived around 9p our first night and were still able to readily get a full meal at the corner café.

We enjoyed both traditional French restaurants and Italian restaurants, which are plentiful.

Scott was out even later, returning our rental car, and he came across a ballroom dancing event happening in a public square near our hotel.

Like the flea market in Lyon and the street fair in Provence, I stumbled onto a street fair in the public square here in Paris. It was very similar to a New York City street fair with its variety of goods – cell phone cases, discount and hipster clothing, wallets and bags, items for around the house, and discount cosmetics and toiletries.

However, the prices were much better, and instead of greasy fried food stands, there were fruit and veggie stands.

I picked up a scarf, necklace, and a few dresses, and Scott even bought a wallet for himself. Items ranged from 2 to 10 Euros. I definitely could have bought a lot more things.

Flying home with another movie marathon

Because of the heat, we ended up spending more time holed up indoors than I expected. I already watched a number of movies during the trip:

1. Ted — hilarious!
2. Ted 2 – still hilarious!
3. Dance With me – loved it, but I’m a Strictly Ballroom fan, so maybe I just like the genre. I was also impressed by the leads, Vanessa Williams and Chayanne (and Jane Krakowski in a nice supporting turn)
4. Star Trek: Into The Darkness – I have loved all the Star Trek reboot movies, and this one was good too. But seriously, Benedict Cumberbatch as a younger Ricardo Montalban?
5. Eat, Pray, Love – Julia Roberts is a true movie star but even she couldn’t save this movie. I hadn’t heard the term “priv-lit” before but saw it in a review of this movie, and that about sums up the movie. Spoiler alert: Elizabeth Gilbert didn’t just go on her one-year trip to find herself. She got a $200,000 book advance before she left, so it was more business trip than anything else
6. The Saint – I will never get that time back. Don’t make the same mistake
7. The Hulk – how can Ang Lee, Eric Bana, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott AND Jennifer Connelly make a bad movie? They team up for The Hulk

Still, on the way back, I watched three more:

1. Second Act – as a career coach, how could I resist? Jennifer Lopez plays a 40-year old, never finished college who dreams of a management job. It’s like Working Girl, except without the humor, chemistry, and charismatic cast. Definitely pick The Wedding Planner if you want a funny J. Lo movie;
2. Venom – LOVED it, and I don’t normally like the superhero genre (except Guardians of the Galaxy, which I found LOL funny, but of course, I also just admitted to loving the Ted movies)
3. Beach House – billed as a thriller but not so thrilling. I didn’t recognize any of the cast, and the last 20 minutes was filmed at night with bad lighting so it was like a scene from a radio show. I had to look up what happened!

The movies weren’t the best but still a good finish to a fun trip.

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Next up, a few days in NYC to catch up, and then a road trip to Atlanta for a business/ pleasure trip!